Prof. Alan Rozenshtein Interviewed by Wired About Decision on TikTok’s Future Could be Delayed

Professor Alan Rozenshtein was interviewed by Wired about how the court battle around TikTok’s potential ban may go well beyond the original January deadline of divestiture. Congress ruled the app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, must divest by January or face a ban in the U.S. The first delay in a ban could occur by way of a 90-day grace period granted by the new U.S. president. However, since TikTok sued the federal government to appeal the ban, the case is currently being decided by the Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. If it loses, it is expected to attempt to take the case to the Supreme Court. But according to Prof Rozenshtein, if the Supreme Court picks up the case, it could bean a decision is delayed until as late as summer 2025. He said, “The court could not take the case, and the law is upheld, but it’s such a big issue: It affects 170 million Americans. It’s a core First Amendment question. Also the Supreme Court has shown in the last few years that it cares about these digital First Amendment cases.”